Your Drill Will Pierce Through The Underground
by LittlePseudoBunny
Summary: Warning: Undertale spoilers for the entire game, and Gurren Lagann spoilers up to episode 9. Simon in the story is post episode 9, but pre episode 10. You have been warned. Simon, looking to escape back to the underground villages he knew, digs down farther than he's ever gone. His tunnel opens up, and he falls into cave with his fall cushioned by golden flowers...
1. Chapter 1: Fallen Down

It was cold. 

He knew being underground, beneath the surface, was cold. He had lived under the dirt for so long, it was the regular, normal temperature. The surface was the hot, abnormal place, with its burning sun. A place where he didn't belong. Where aniki didn't belong. Where none of us belonged… 

But this was colder. An unfamiliar cold, one that made his already aching body shiver in discomfort. He had dug down, drilling and drilling to find home again. A familiar place, a comfort from the painful surface that had taken away all he had once knew. Underground, people may of thought he was weird, but at least he was useful. Kamina had been alive, and he could drill and drill and drill..

There was the cold again, racing down his spine, breaking the flow of his thoughts. This must be Hell, he assumed. Rossiu had told him about the legend of Dante's journey through Hell, and about its bottom layer. That was where all the traitors went, to freeze in eternal torment and never escape. He had let Kamina down, betrayed his trust, as he let him die. He was never meant to drill towards the heavens, as all he could do was drill down further and further towards the place in eternal damnation where he belonged. 

Simon lay deep in self-condemning thought as his eyes wandered along the stone ceiling above. He saw a large hole, the tunnel from which he had fallen, right above him. Through this opening the sunlight streamed faintly down the long distance to him. It was almost like a glimmer of hope, fading the farther it got, practically giving up by the time it got to Simon. Yet, still, it reached him. His heart was lifted slightly, but his body still felt limp and lifeless. His eyes bloodshot and heavy, his mind weak and his spirit dying, he started to fall asleep upon the golden flowers that had broken his fall…

A shuffling beside him snapped his mind into consciousness. To his right, a child of small stature clothed in jeans, brown shoes, and a striped magenta and blue shirt, stood up. Its brown, messy hair reached to about the bottom of its head, contrasting against the yellowish tone of its skin. The child held a blank expression, presumably keeping its emotions hidden from Simon. Even with all these details known to him, Simon could not definitively figure the gender of the child. He was… curious about the child as it stared at him, to say the least. 

"Are you okay?" the child asked, its placid countenance unchanging. It had an alluring feminine voice, talking with genuine concern even when its face revealed nothing. Simon simply stared blankly, unable to construct a proper sentence within his own mind. Instead, he started to pick himself up off the ground, wincing as his sore, bruised muscles strained to push themselves up. Upon viewing his pain, the child walked over and extended a hand. Simon looked up at the child, seeing its figure blend with the light streaming down from above. 

"Looks like you need some help," the child said, sending a smile down to the struggling Simon. He now saw the child up close, allowing him to properly observe its appearance, Simon blushed as he promptly noticed her more feminine features. She wasn't "attractive" like Yoko, but had more of a homely, natural beauty about her. The light wrapped around her as if she belonged in it, its hopefulness piercing and molding with her being. It was like she was an angel, his own personal Virgil, sent to save him from Hell just as Rossiu had spoke of in the legend. Seeing her like this gave him hope. She granted him a sort of… determination, to strive to get out and back to the surface. Resolving to not give up just yet, he grabbed the girl's hand, slowly rising from the yellow flower bed with her help. Back on his feet, he quickly brushed off his blue jacket and brown shorts, wiping the flowing flower petals off his clothing.

"What's your name?" was the question that the child immediately beset upon Simon. Having just gotten up, it caught him off guard.

"S...Simon," he stammered, shocked and embarrassed.

"My name's Frisk. You wanna help me find a way out of here?" she replied, smiling.

"We… we could probably drill our way out of here," Simon whispered, talking to himself. He looked around the flower bed for the drill he had used to get down here. The only drill he found when his eyes searched the room was the one tied around his neck. The Core Drill, the key to piloting Gurren Lagann, had still stuck with him. Though Lagann had rejected him, the Core Drill stayed with him all the way, whatever the circumstance.

"What did you say? I couldn't hear you." Frisk inquired. Simon simply looked down at the ground stuffed his hands in his pockets. Without his drill, he felt useless. He had no other skills. He couldn't fight, not without Lagann. Even with Lagann, he was a coward, running away from fights, causing others to die while he himself lives…

"I think I saw a tunnel over there," Frisk announced, breaking Simon's train of thought. She pointed to her left, over the patch of flowers. "It's tall and wide enough to fit someone much larger than us. It's probably a path that could lead to a way out." Simon turned to look over where she directed and pulled down his goggles. It was dark, and going into caves blindly, even if it seemed like a path, was a bad idea. He powered on the lights in his goggles and started walking towards the tunnel. Frisk followed quickly behind, walking lightly compared to Simon's heavy, sulking footsteps. The children, after a short walk, came upon a tall ornate doorway at the end of the tunnel. With greek pillars adorning the sides, and a angelic crest adorning the top arch of the doorway, the opening gave an air of royalty. Simon stared in awe, realizing he may have found another underground village like his own. Frisk walked around him and started ahead. Once in the doorway, she turned around.

"Are you coming? Or are you just going to stand and stare?" Frisk asked, a playful look on her face. She turned and ran through the doorway, leaving Simon behind. Her energetic, childish personality kept him on his toes. Everytime he got lost in thought, she snapped him out of it. It should of annoyed him, but he found her energy to be intoxicating. He himself started to become a little excited as well, so he walked faster through the doorway to catch up to her. When he found Frisk again, she was talking to a golden flower basking in a ray of light. Extraordinarily, the flower had a face, and was talking back.

"Howdy!" the flower exclaimed, "My name is Flowey. Flowey the Flower!"

"What a cute name! I'm Frisk," said the girl, responding with a similar level of enthusiasm.

"Frisk? I haven't heard that name before." the flower stated, slightly intrigued. "You're new to the Underground, arentcha?"

"The Underground? I've never heard of a place like that before." Frisk said, disoriented.

"Is there a village down here?" Simon added.

"Golly, you two must be so confused." the flower replied, "Someone ought to teach you guys how things work around here." Each thing the flower stated was nice and sweet, almost sickeningly so. "I guess little old me will have to do." the flower sighed. The flower then perked up as if at attention.

"Ready?" he asked, then without time for a response he exclaimed "Here we go!" The whole area darkened, leaving only Flowey, Frisk, and Simon visible. Around Simon and Frisk appeared a white square, painted on the ground like a child's chalk drawings. Flowey was planted outside the square, facing the front of Simon and Frisk.

"Your guys' souls start off weak," he began, "but they can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV." The sudden change of space around them, as well as the flower's odd statements, caused and unnerving shiver to run down Simon's spine. Frisk simply stood tall, listening intently and obediently to the flower's words.

"What does LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course!" the flower exclaimed, its smile seemingly engulfing its facade.

"You want some LOVE, don't you? Don't worry, I'll share some with you!" said the flower, motioning with an exaggerated wink. Frisk giggled at Flowey's statements and jovial attitude, yet Simon felt uneasy. He found his hand already clasped around his Core Drill, as if he were getting ready to fight for his life. He hadn't seen a beastman take the form of a plant, but he was not ready to put his blind trust into a plant with a functioning mouth and eyes.

"Don't worry, friend!" Flowey said. Noticing Simon's agitated countenance it put on an even bigger smile and stared at him. "Down here, LOVE is shared through… little white…"

The flower paused. Little white oval shaped objects rose in an arc behind the flower.

"Friendliness pellets," the flower finished, almost unsure of itself. Simon tensed up.

"Are you ready?" the flower inquired, the pellets readied.

"Absolutely!" Frisk beamed. She spread her arms wide, opening herself to accept the pellets as if they were a gift sent from God himself. After she spoke, the bullets began to move slowly towards Frisk and Simon.

"Move around! Get as many as you can!" Flowey urged. Simon's eyes filled with terror as they advanced. He was now convinced that the flower was a beastman trying to kill them. Just before the bullets hit their mark, Simon dove into Frisk, pushing them out of the way onto the ground. The pellets lodged themselves into the ground where they once stood. Frisk pushed Simon off of herself and opened her mouth, preparing to question Simon about his brash act.

"Hey buddies, you missed them." Flowey interrupted, and annoyed expression twitching across his face. "Let's try again, okay?"

As a new round of bullets began flying with increased urgency, Simon grabbed Frisk and began running towards the opposite edge of the square. When he reached the edge, he rammed into what felt like a brick wall. The pellets again fell into the ground in front of them, missing their intended mark. The flower looked scornfully upon the children, as Simon stood reeling in pain.

"What's going on SImon?" Frisk asked, slightly angered. "The flower's trying to give us some of his LOVE!"

Simon grabbed Frisk's shoulders, a terrified expression strewn across his face as he sputtered "No, he's not! That's a beastman, and he's trying to kill us because we're human!"

The flower stared at Simon, his pupils becoming smaller, and his smile twisting into a devilish grin. "You know what's going on here, don't you?" Flowey snarled. "You just wanted to see me suffer."

A circle of pellets surrounded Simon and Frisk, as the flower grimaced at the two children.

"Die," the flower growled. Flowey cackled as the pellets began to slowly drift closer and closer towards the frightened children. Frisk grabbed a hold of Simon, even though he was not a comforting sight. He had turned white as a bedsheet, his eyes widening and arms hanging loosely at his side. He had tried to save someone else before, and had ended up failing them. Would this time be the same? He couldn't do it. He wasn't capable of anything.

Simon closed his eyes. He felt Frisk's head fall onto his back, her wet tears staining the fabric of his jacket. He could hear her soft whimpers for her parents, and how much she loved them. As he stood their, resigning to his fate, he heard a loud ping. Frisk clutched his jacket, holding tighter to Simon while his spine became straighter and all the muscles in his body tensed up at once.. Shocked by the sudden noise, of which there was no following pain, Simon slowly opened his eyes to find the pellets gone. Flowey, along with his confused expression, was the only thing that Simon could see.

Flowey formed his mouth to speak, only to then be cut off by a fireball streaking out from the darkness to his side. The fireball struck him in the middle of his stem, forcefully uprooting him from the ground in which he had been entrenched. Flowey let loose an eldritch shriek of pain as he flew into the darkness. Simon looked towards the fireball's origins to see a beastman unveil itself from the shadows. Adorned in a robe, decorated with the crest from the doorway, the beastman was at least twice as tall as he was. It had the horns and floppy ears of a farm animal but with a face like a human.

"What a terrible creature," the beastman started, in a genuinely sweet manner, "torturing such poor, innocent youths…"

Simon broke into a cold sweat. His skin became clammy as he tried to keep composure. This beastman had defeated Flowey with ease, and now it had set its sights on them. His muscles continued to tense, while Frisk's grip on Simon's back slowly loosened. Frisk felt comforted by the creature's voice.

"Do not be afraid, my children," she continued, noticing Simon's obvious discomfort. "I am TORIEL, caretaker of the RUINS. I pass through this place everyday to see if anyone has fallen down."

Frisk took her trembling hands off of Simon's jacket, and turned to face Toriel with bloodshot eyes. Simon's muscles eased up while his mind remained at the ready. He was prepared to attack, or just distract, the powerful beastman in order to let Frisk escape if necessary.

"You are the first humans to come here in a long time," Toriel said, looking at both children with a sense of wonder. "Come! I will guide you through the catacombs." Toriel extended a hand to the children, and beckoned them forward. "This way," she added, as she turned to walk towards another ornate doorway.

Simon stood, planted where he was. The beastman was going to lead them to their death, just as the flower from before had deceived them with kindness moments ago. Frisk, however, found genuine motherly kindness in the creature's words, so she began to follow slowly. Frisk turned to face Simon, with the same placid expression from before. Though she attempted to hide her emotions again as if to cope with the terrifying experience, her agitated corneas betrayed her calm countenance. She seemed determined to move forward, not letting the past get in her way.

"That goat-lady will show us the way," Frisk said, with her quivering lips giving certain words a buzz. She forced a smile. "We'll find a way out of this, I'm sure." Frisk quickly grabbed ahold of Simon's arm, turned, and ran through the doorway after Toriel. The tunnel system was brighter than before, and Simon was sure it was her who was shining.


	2. Chapter 2: Heartache in the RUINS

As Frisk ran through the tunnel after Toriel, Simon in tow behind her, the path became brighter with each step. At the end of the tunnel was the source, a massive cavern lit up by a magical fire above. The cavern they had arrived in housed a giant purple castle surrounded by purple brick towers and buildings. Frisk and Simon stood in the courtyard of the royal structure before them, surrounded by red flowers, and faced the split stairway to the entrance. The structure, in its majesty and size, was an awesome sight to behold. Even though Simon began to notice the plants growing along its walls, as well as the broken and crumbling pieces of the walls they covered, he could not discount the beauty it still held and the strength to keep on this way.

"With the shadow of this ruined structure looming above us, Simon," Frisk said wonderingly, turning towards the awestruck Simon, "Aren't you just filled with…" Frisk scrunched up her face, going deep into thought. Simon blinked his eyes and snapped himself back to reality, turning towards Frisk to respond. Just as Simon opened his mouth, Frisk lifted her head and shouted, "DETERMINATION!", seemingly pushing Simon back with her voice, "It fills you with determination, doesn't it Simon?" Catching himself, Simon stood back upright, looking at Frisk confused.

"Determination?" he quietly answered, puzzled by her word choice.

"Well," she started, turning towards the structure, "Even though it is crumbling and falling apart, the castle still stands at full strength. It just makes you feel like you can push through anything life throws at you!" Frisk turned back to Simon, her face beaming. "I feel determined! I want to stand tall like those ruins." Simon stared at the ruins, forlorn. He wanted to be like them, to stay strong through what he had experienced. Instead, he had run away from what hurt him like a coward.

"Right inside this door, children," Toriel shouted from the top of the stairs, pointing towards a doorless opening surrounded by vines. Frisk, with her arm firmly clasped on Simon's arm, pulled her sullen companion up the stairs. Once Toriel was sure that the children were still following, she walked through the doorway. Still convinced that this goat creature was leading them into a trap, Simon planted his feet to stop and save Frisk. For a second, Simon's strength won, keeping the small girl from budging him another inch. Then, with a tremendous pull, Frisk yanked Simon in front of her. His apathy was nothing compared to her boundless energy.

"Don't be afraid," Frisk said teasingly, "Just be determined!" Frisk, placing both hands on Simon, shoved him through the doorway. Simon stumbled backwards through the opening, running right into the large, fluffy robed guide. Simon heard a giggle above him as Frisk walked to meet him.

"Welcome to your new home, innocent ones." Toriel proclaimed as she placed her hand on Simon's shoulder. "Allow me to educate you in the operation of the RUINS." Simon shuddered at the beast's touch, readying himself for what was to come. To his surprise, Toriel walked away from him. Frisk, standing in front of Simon, sidestepped around him to watch the goat creature. He heard five clicks, and then nothing. Scared, Simon slowly turned around to see Frisk bring her hands upto applaud an opened door, six tiles on the floor (four of which were depressed), and a switch residing on the opposite wall.

"The RUINS are full of puzzles." Toriel explained, "Ancient fusions between diversions and door keys. One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them."

"See? I told you she'd show us the way," Frisk whispered to Simon very matter of factly. Seeing Frisk so carefree and trusting put Simon at ease. He relaxed his muscles, no longer ready to spring into action at any moment. Feeling satisfied with simply calming Simon, Frisk ran over to the buttons and examined them closely. Simon walked over to a button left unpressed, checking over it as well. Leaving the children to their own devices, Toriel left through the opened doorway to wait for the children.

"Why do they have a door locked with a puzzle facing the tunnels?" Simon thought out loud, his ponderings falling upon the Frisk's ears.

"So Toriel can show the new people about puzzles," Frisk answered, "Weren't you paying attention? You dummy." Like the child she was, she playfully stuck her tongue out at Simon. He didn't notice, being lost in thought as he fearfully imagined the implications of the situation. "Hey Simon!" Frisk said, bringing Simon back to the Underground. "We should go follow Toriel so we can get out of here." She turned and jogged out of the room, leaving him alone. Simon turned to follow when he saw a small, yellow flower out of the corner of his eye. He hurriedly turned towards the door from which they entered. His eyes frantically searched the area to no avail, as the flower seemingly disappeared. Not wanting to be alone to the shadows which taunted him, Simon ran in a panic to the next room.

" -labelled the ones that you need to flip," Toriel finished explaining to an attentive Frisk. Simon burst into the room, panting heavily, as Toriel turned to walk towards the other end of the room. Frisk, not noticing Simon, excitedly ran towards the nearest switch as indicated by bright, yellow arrows. Simon, not caring for the beastman's puzzles, instead looked for a way out. Over a couple of wooden bridges and past Toriel standing guard on the farther one, there was a closed door with the same symbols that were found all throughout the RUINS. With his eyes set on the destination, Simon crossed the streams of water, rather than taking the bridges, in order to avoid falling into the creature's clutches.

"What are you doing?" shouted Toriel, perplexed by Simon's rash action. Simon, ignoring the beastman's inquiries, stopped right before the door. The large door seemed sturdy, refusing to budge as Simon shoved himself against it. As he pushed his entire body against the door, he noticed a small hole in the middle that became illuminated as his Core Drill began flashing green light. Slowly, Simon took his hands off the door and grabbed his Core Drill. For a moment he hesitated, but all doubt left him once the hole started the glow in the same fashion. Undaunted by the heavy steps behind him, Simon shoved the Core Drill into the door and turned it like a key.

The door became consumed with green light, and then promptly disappeared. From behind him, SImon heard soft footsteps as Frisk walked around Toriel to stand next to Simon.

"That was cool!" Frisk exclaimed, her face beaming with excitement. "Looks like you're really getting the hang of the puzzles aren't you?" Frisk complimented, causing Simon to blush again. The girl kept finding ways to lighten his spirits, but his countenance reverted once he heard the heavy footsteps of the beastman behind him.

"Let us move to the next room," Toriel commanded quickly and nervously. Simon could see sweat building upon her forehead and a shaky look in her eyes.

"You can solve the next puzzle too, can't you Simon?" Frisk asked Simon, "I believe in you." Frisk flashed Simon an encouraging smile, reminding him of his inspiring older brother. Before Simon could reminisce further, Toriel placed her hands on the children's backs, pushing them into the next room.

Once in the adjacent room, Toriel stepped in front of them and stopped next to a stuffed training dummy. Still in a daze, Simon only caught bits and pieces of the beastman's explanation. He heard a few important snippets, such as "monsters may attack you" and "you will enter a FIGHT." Other than that, Simon could not keep Kamina's memory from repeating inside of his head. Frisk had brought it back, digging up the feelings he had stowed away. Simon brought his hands to his ears as his mind kept repeating the scene to him, his body trembling. He saw Gurren's cockpit shattering as the spear entered from below, heard the conjoined crunch of shattering bones and metal, replayed to the harrowing scream of Kamina over and over and over and over and

SNAP.

As he came back to reality, Simon saw his hand lodged within the training dummy's head, with stuffing and fabric surrounding his hand as well as the adjacent area. He had severed the wooden spine that had connected the head to the deflated body that lay on the floor. He didn't remember swinging his arm, his fist wielding the Core Drill, towards the dummy in the first place. He had gone from barely listening to Toriel to having the metallic necklace lodged in the dummy's spine. He turned towards the others to see Frisk cowering behind the fur of Toriel's legs. Frisk stared at Simon with neither wonder, sadness, nor anger. It was an expression of pure fear. Her eyes pierced to his soul, as if she saw _him_ as the monster rather than the beastman she clung to. Simon swelled with disappointment, sadness, and confusion, muddling his consciousness. Almost reactively , Simon ran into the next room.

"Child, wait!"

Simon heard Toriel's concerned shouts slowly fade away as he ran through the next room. The walls of purple brick blurred together as he ran. They became coherent again once he skidded to a halt in front of a spiked bridge covering an expanse of shallow water. Hearing loud booming footsteps behind him, as well as the small pitter-patter alongside it, he leapt into the water. He ran as fast as he could, sloshing through the pool to the exit as Toriel followed quickly behind through the spike puzzle. The water was slowing him, splashing onto his jacket and shorts, yet he still kept ahead of the beastman. Simon reached the other side and climbed up into the doorway.

"It's dangerous past there! Please wait!" Toriel shouted frantically. Toriel was still a few meters away holding Frisk's hand as she gave chase, so Simon took the opportunity to keep running. Running was what he was good at. He wasn't strong like Kamina or these ruins, so he ran from his problems. They couldn't hurt him if they couldn't catch him. So Simon kept running, and running, and running. He passed through a long hall, past frogs and flowers, until he heard the crackling of floor tiles. He fell in what seemed like slow motion into a bed of red rose petals as the world went dark.

Simon awoke to a frog licking his face. The cold, thin, slimy appendage streaked itself along Simon's arm, sending cold shivers up his spine. He shot up onto his feet, ready for action. Without a weapon other than his Core Drill, Simon searched through the petals for a weapon. At the bottom he found a stick which he then raised high above his head to bring down upon the monstrous frog-creature. It shattered upon contact with the monster's skull, but the force was enough to knock the creature unconscious. Terrified, Simon dropped his shattered weapon and ran towards the stairs he found in front of him. He climbed back to the top, finding the hallway and hole he had fallen down behind him. In the air were moans of pain propagated by wispy spirits, floating around on butterfly wings with a sullen expression. The creatures seemed to ignore him, so he paid them no heed and simply took off along his original route to escape.

His run went mostly unhindered, as the puzzles in front of him had been solved. He inferred that Toriel and Frisk had gone ahead to… somewhere. He did not know where the goat beastman had been leading them, but he did not have any good premonitions about their destination. Simon picked up his speed to catch up. Even if Frisk was fearful of him, he had to save her. He didn't know if he could, but he still had to try. His legs carried him farther and farther into the ruins, until he came to a fork in the road. Keeping his momentum, he carried on straight through a doorway and out onto a balcony. He stood on the edge of the platform when he finally came to a stop, looking out upon an old city, ruined like the castle. It was a breathtaking sight, colored all in purple bricks and covered in green vines. To his left, he saw a small lonely house in the ruins active with smoke billowing out of the chimney. He inferred that the separate path at the fork lead to there, and that Frisk had been taken to it. Turning around, Simon tripped on a small box laying haphazardly on the floor. Like the door he had seen before, a Core Drill sized hole began to glow. Unlocking the box revealed to Simon his prize: a weapon. A small toy knife lay within the box, though its metal gleamed and its edges seemed sharp. Without Lagann he had no way to defend himself or Frisk, so he lifted the knife out of the box. It seemed to have the weight of a real knife as well, but its oversized and cartoonish nature gave it the feeling of a replica.

"Against the beastmen, any weapon is better than no weapon," he muttered to himself, stuffing the knife into his shorts. Simon, calmed and comforted by his new means of self-defence, walked slowly back to the path's fork, turned right, and advanced to the small house. As he came closer to the purple dwelling, the scent of butterscotch and cinnamon became more powerful. Simon could have sworn that he smelled butterscotch cinnamon pie being made. At the door of the house, the scent was so strong that he had became engrossed in it, remembering the familiar scent of home-baked goods. His tense shoulders relaxed until he stiffened at the sound of the fast, loud footsteps of Toriel.

"I want to go home!" was Frisk's desperate cry towards the rampaging creature. Both sets of footsteps, loud and quiet, decrescendoed into low vibrations as they descended what sounded to be stairs. Simon ran inside the small house to follow, immediately hopping down steps. As he lowered himself towards a long tunnel underneath the house, he could hear Toriel's dissatisfied and angry words echoing through the cavern.

"Ahead of us lies the end of the RUINS. A one-way exit to the rest of the underground. I'm going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again" Toriel growled, with the end of her statements being punctuated by Frisk's anguished cry.

"Please," Frisk pleaded, "I just want to go home. My parents…" Frisk broke into sobs, her teardrops echoing loudly towards Simon, who had finished his descent. Farther down the long hallway, he heard Toriel's loud hush overpower Frisk's cries.

"Every human that falls down here meets the same fate." Toriel sighed, sounding solemn. "I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave." Toriel paused, choking on her own words.

"They die." The words resounded throughout the tunnel, stunning Simon and freezing him in place. Frisk's sobs suddenly stopped, shocked by the sheer audacity of the goat creature's statement. "You naive child…" Toriel groaned, "If you leave the RUINS… They…" Toriel's voice turned into a low growl as she continued, "ASGORE… will kill you."

Simon seethed with rage. The beastmen had taken many humans, and he had now found the source. He could end it all, exiting the RUINS would surely lead to ASGORE. Simon reached for the knife in his pocket, gripping the handle tightly, as he sprinted towards Toriel's voice. He followed quickly behind, ignoring all of Toriel's explanations and excuses to Frisk. He kept moving forward until he met the child and beastman at a large door, adorned with the symbol upon her chest and the one on the first door.

"You want to leave so badly?" Toriel growled, turning back towards the children.

"Yes." snapped Simon. His baggy, soulless eyes burned with anger and a desire to kill. Frisk turned towards her savior but seemed to lose hope in her eyes once she recognized him.

"You are just like the others," Toriel snarled, "There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself. Prove to me you are strong enough to survive." Simon slowly slipped the knife out of his pants and Frisk gasped, seeing her own reflection on the shiny surface of the blade.

"Please," Frisk whimpered quietly, "Please don't do this Simon… Toriel... " Frisk curled into a fetal position, whispering "I just want to go home" in between sobs.

Like when Flowey had attacked, the chalk square surrounded them as darkness descended and Toriel stood tall, readying herself for battle. Simon gripped the knife harder as his Core Drill glowed in a fierce green ambience. The toy knife transformed itself in his hand into a familiar tool: a drill. Wielding his weapon of choice, Simon charged Toriel as she raised her hand to hurl flames that were seemingly conjured from the air itself. The sharp point pierced right through her soft body, poking out of the other side onto the door. Toriel's eyes widened and her breathing became heavy as she felt her life force draining.

"Y… You... really hate me that much?" Toriel stammered, her body shaking as she stared at her killer. Frisk screamed as she looked up to see Toriel's fading body. "Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you here…" she weakly hissed, "Not you… but them!" Toriel's face turned into a crooked smile as she slowly laughed. Simon pulled the drill out of her chest, and she faded away into dust. Frisk let out a final, ear shattering shriek before falling unconscious, her mind struggling to handle the shock of the events. A familiar hole shined in the door, beckoning Simon towards it.

Picking up the unconscious Frisk, Simon slowly proceeded through the doorway, unlocking it with his Core Drill. Before him was a long hallway that slowly became brighter. As he walked down the path, he stared at the unconscious Frisk and pondered on his actions. He wondered if Toriel had really needed to die, as the voices inside his mind argued if she was a beastman intending them harm or if she was a nice, gentle creature sincerely wanting their safety. He was in distress, feeling guilty over his rash decision in the heat of the moment. Frisk seemed to hold Toriel dear, yet he had still killed her. This quiet introspection lasted until he passed into a mundane dark room inhabited by a familiar yellow flower. Simon seized up in horror, clenching Frisk tight to him, as the flower cackled with insane laughter.

"You're not really human, are you? No. You're empty inside. Just like me. In fact…" Flowey rambled, his face turning to a devilish grin that bared his teeth. "You're Simon, right? Listen, I have a plan to become all powerful. Even more powerful than you and your determination, using Spiral Power. You seem to have a bit of it yourself."

Simon, keeping tight hold on Frisk, ran, terror stricken, away from Flowey. He quickly fled out of the door into the Underground.

"Let's turn them all to dust." the flower whispered sliding back down into the ground.

Thanks to all those who have followed and favorited the story! The chapters will be posted on a weekly basis, coming out on either Tuesday or Wednesday. Hopefully schoolwork and procrastination don't push it from those days.

Special thanks to Tmanmaniac122 for being an editor for the story to make sure it grammatically makes sense and I don't look like an idiot.


	3. Chapter 3: Sans the Skeleton

Simon ran, bursting through the doors, out of the RUINS. Immediately, he was confronted with a harsh, cold wind that seemed to bite at his exposed skin. He stopped, shivering, and heard the wind whistle through a dense forest of leafless, dead trees to both sides of him. In front of him he could see a straight, snowy path through the trees, stretching for almost as far as the eye could see. Looking up, he could still see a cavern ceiling far above him, yet a dull light seemed to permeate the lifeless forest. Resolving to find ASGORE, Simon marched forward as Frisk still lay limp on his shoulder. His boots sounded with muffled crunches as he walked in the dry snow and a light sprinkle of snow fell from the nothingness above him.

As Simon drew closer to a wood structure in the distance, he noticed his footsteps seemed to almost echo behind him. With every soft footfall he would hear a harder, slower crunch behind him. Dismissing the noise as paranoia, he continued walking forward, albeit slightly faster. As he advanced he stepped over a wide, sturdy branch on the trail only to hear it snap as the heavy footsteps creeped upon him. Simon broke into a sprint, quickly closing in on the wooden structure. Snow flew into his face, his feet struggling for traction in the snow, and the figure behind him seemed to match his pace. After a few moments, Simon, gasping, reached the wooden bridge adorned with generously spaced poles around it. He quickly laid Frisk down onto the cold wood, then turned 'round, drill in hand, to face his pursuer.

 **PHHHHfffffffbbbbbbbbbtttttttttttttt.**

Simon's drill had pierced a small rubber bag. Holding the bag was a short, wide skeleton wearing a blue jacket with fur around the collar and simple black pants. It stared into Simon's eyes with pure white pupils and jet black irises, showing off a grin that went from ear to ear. Simon looked back with false confidence, his baggy eyes betraying his inner turmoil.

"I guess you don't like the ol' woopie cushion in the hand trick," the skeleton sighed, retracting his outstretched hand back into his pocket. "OK, that's fine. Everyone's got their own sense of humor." The skeleton gave Simon a wink, and giggle, attempting to lighten the heavy mood.

"Who are you?" Simon asked in a quivering growl.

"I'm Sans. Sans the skeleton." the skeleton replied, staring unblinkingly at Simon. "I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now." After another small chuckle, Simon's eyes widened and his cheeks turned red with a combination of anger and fear.

"Did ASGORE send you? Are you here to kill us?" Simon yelled, pushing his drill closer to San's ribcage. Sans, continence unchanging, slowly took his left hand out of his pocket and pushed the drill's point away with his index finger. He let out a nervous chuckle, and looked away.

"I don't really care about capturing anybody." Sans confessed, then looked back towards Simon. "Now my brother, Papyrus… he's a human-hunting FANATIC." Sans opened his jaw and teeth to form another word when his eyes caught hold of something beyond Simon. "Hey actually, I think that's him over there." Sans whispered, pointing towards the path behind Simon. Simon slowly turned around, keeping a careful eye on Sans, and spotted a large figure with a billowing cape grandiosely marching towards the bridge.

"I have an idea. Go right through this gate." Sans whispered, pointing towards the poles in on the bridge, "And take your friend behind that conveniently placed shop stand." Sans finished, pointing towards a small wooden hut and table. Simon stood indecisively, staring at the approaching threat. Sans was obviously a beastman, so it confused him as to why he would try to help. Simon could only reason it to be either a trap or ambush since the ultimate goal of the beastmen was to kill every human they encountered. Still, it would be a greater risk to fight two beastman on the finally picked up Frisk and ran behind the counter of the nearby shop stand. The large footsteps from the approaching creature and Sans shook the ground enough to wake Frisk from her unconscious state.

"Sup, bro?" Sans asked, greeting the other creature.

"You know what _sup_ brother!" the other irritatedly shouted. "It's been eight days and you still haven't recalibrated. Your. Puzzles." It made sure to punctuate heavily, breathing heavily through its teeth.

Simon started to tune out the two arguing brothers to pay attention to the awakening Frisk. Instead of hearing frustrated breathing flowing through the skeleton's empty jaw and teeth, he concentrated on the small rise and fall of Frisk's chest as she came back to reality. She looked around, opening her bright blue eyes, sleepily searching the area. Eventually she looked right at Simon, who was intently staring at her, concerned. Frisk's eyes widened and her mouth peeled back in terror to let out an awful scream… but she closed her eyes again. Simon, worried, reached a hand towards the once again unconscious Frisk. He grabbed her shoulder and her eyes quickly opened, sending Simon backwards onto his rear in shock. She stared at Simon with dark, red eyes as her lips curled into a devilish smile. The smile unsettled Simon, as it felt out of place. The smile did not look like any human could make it, but instead it was as if one would sew it on a doll.

"Good job killing that old bitch Toriel." Frisk cackled. "Stabbing her with a drill, holding nothing back, and feeling no guilt or remorse? I think we can be good friends." Simon stared in confusion at Frisk, as her new mannerisms and speech were quite different from before. Whatever she was, the person in front of him was not Frisk.

"Who are you?" Simon sputtered.

"Silly me," the devilish girl said as she gently laughed, giving off an air of faux innocence. "I'm Chara," she began. Chara crawled closer to Simon as he shrunk back against a wall of the stall. She widened her eyes as she hissed, "I'm the new owner of this body." Simon stared horrified into Chara's eyes, gaining insight on the dark abyss that was her soul. As they held themselves there, Simon slowly began to see himself in that abyss, his face reflecting off her eyes.

A loud, boisterous laugh broke the silence. "NYEH HEH HEH HEH," echoed throughout the air, followed by footsteps away from the stall. Chara's head snapped swiftly to the front of the stall, and her eyes followed the dwindling footsteps. Once they faded away into silence, Chara closed her eyes and looked back at Simon. "Looks like the little girl wants her body back," she sleepily laughed. "Don't let me down. Kill them all."

Frisk's head fell onto Simon's bare chest, snapping her right back into consciousness. Once her droopy eyelids opened, she was taken aback in horror. She quickly rose to her feet, smacking her head against the underside of the shop stand, bouncing it slightly. Her eyes began to well with tears and her mouth opened to scream… but she closed it and bit her bottom lip.

"Frisk…" Simon whispered, almost inaudibly. He felt guilty under the accusatory stare she gave through wetted eyes.

"You're a monster." Frisk hissed, her voice sharp like a knife and her tongue dripping poison. Simon lay, soaking in the snow, with his mouth agape while his mind searched for words that weren't quite there. She turned and ran out from the confined space of the stand, following the now faded footsteps while larger footsteps approached the stand. Simon arose, slowly as he slipped around in the snow, and met face to face with Sans.

"Well, I'll be straight-forward with you," the skeleton started, sighing with contempt. "My brother, and that girl, would really like to see a human…" Sans paused, looking down at the ground and shuffling his hands in his jacket pockets. "So, y'know, it'd really help me out…."

"If you kept pretending to be one."

Sans spoke without inflection, without care, without praise and without condemnation. Looking Simon straight in the eye, he had made a simple request. Simon stared back lifelessly, his lips curled into a faux tough frown.

Sans sighed again, frustrated. "You know, the woman on the other side of that door made me promise that if a human ever walked through that door, I would protect them." Sans chuckled. "I hate making promises, but you know what would have happened if she hadn't said anything?"

"You would have killed us right when we walked through the door, wouldn't you?" Simon scornfully replied.

"You'd be dead where you stand," Sans clarified, his pupils disappearing from his eye sockets. Simon stood unfazed at the skeleton's theatrics. He had faced beastmen larger and scarier than this one, and it didn't even have its Gunman.

"Just like Toriel?" Simon jested, smirking. Sans's pupils returned as he stared intriguingly at Simon. "You know, the woman behind the door? I killed her." Even at this, Sans continued to stare with his concrete, unchanging expression.

"Here's some friendly advice," Sans grunted, his voice more tense than before. "If you keep going the way you are now… you're going to have a bad time." Without waiting for a reply, Sans turned back towards the door and walked off, disappearing into the woods. Simon tightened the grip on the drill in his hands and turned in the opposite direction, following after Frisk and his next target.

* * *

This chapter's slightly shorter than the past two, but I want to save most of Snowdin for the next chapter. Looks like even though I was planning for a weekly release schedule, it is released every 8 days… odd. Either way, Thanks for reading, and see ya next chapter.

Continued thanks to Tmanmaniac122. you the real mvp


	4. Chapter 4: Snowdin Forest

As Simon trudged forward through the falling snow, he shivered in his loose jacket. With only shorts, an open jacket, and a cloth binding over his abdomen, his skin was vulnerable to the icy wind that blew through the forest path. His fingers numbed as they seemingly froze to the metal handle of the drill he held at his side. His eyes were squinted to keep the frigid air out, preventing him from noticing a branch in the path to his left. He lumbered past the box and its accompanying sign as well, scraping his boots against the ground until he came upon two raspy voices in front of him. His heart started beating faster and his muscles became warm as he stopped and stared at the three figures standing a few yards away. On the left stood Sans, with his left hand on Frisk's right shoulder, and on the right stood a skeleton that Simon assumed to be Papyrus.

"She couldn't be your niece!" Papyrus yelled, "I'm your brother! I'd know if you had a niece." As the large skeleton spoke, a small red cape, attached to his back, fluttered in the wind. He stood about a skull higher than Sans and had wider shoulders as well, yet his torso shrunk into a tiny waist. With red gloves, red boots, and a shiny white shirt, one might say he was a hero.

"Eh. I guess she might not be." Sans said, shrugging. Simon slowly stepped forward, the soft crunch of snow alerting Sans to his presence. Sans took his hand off of Frisk and slowly turned towards Simon, staring with his unchanging facial bones. Sans tapped Papyrus on his arm and pointed towards Simon. "Hey, why don't you look over there?" he whispered.

"SANS!" Papyrus roared, "OH MY GOD! You were chased by a rock?" The taller skeleton turned back towards Sans and raised an eyebrow in confusion. In between the two skeletons stood Frisk with her face scrunched up in what seemed to be an attempt to hide her horrified expression by acting tough and aggravated. Her stare seemed to pierce into his very soul, revealing to her his inner guilt and turmoil. Uneasy, Simon took his gaze from Frisk and towards the blue coat that she began to hide behind. Determined, Simon advanced forward another step.

"Frisk! Get away from them!" he demanded, his voice almost reaching a loud growl. "All the beastmen want to do is hurt you!"

Frisk gripped Sans's coat harder as Simon's harsh yells assaulted her ears. Sans grabbed Frisk and lifted her off of his coat and the ground, handing her over to Papyrus with great urgency.

"Get her to Snowdin," he ordered, staring up at Papyrus. "Set your puzzles up. I'll follow right behind you."

"Why? I'm confused," Papyrus complained, holding the tense Frisk in his boney hands. As Sans went to answer, Simon shot forward at an incredible speed. He placed both hands on his drill handle and held the drill itself in front of him as he charged his enemies.

"GO!" Sans screamed as his left eye turned to blue flame. Papyrus jumped a couple of inches into the ground before throwing Frisk over his shoulders and running away from Simon. Sans turned back just in time to raise a large bone out of the ground to block Simon's attack. Sans, surprised and off balance, fell on his rear as Simon's drill lodged itself inside the skeleton's makeshift protection. Simon struggled to pull his weapon out of the calcium rich structure as Sans stood up and wiped the snow off of his jacket.

"Kid," he sighed, "do you really have to do this?"

"Yes," Simon replied, grunting as he tugged incessantly upon his drill.

"Are ya trying to prove something?" Sans inquired, taking deep breaths. Simon stared into Sans, his eyes burning with rage and passion, yet fueled by grief.

"I can't be a coward anymore," Simon snarled. "Bro wouldn't run away from you. Bro wouldn't let you take Frisk away." With a final pull, Simon released his drill from the bone. " I have to become strong like Bro."

"That's a dangerous way to think," Sans immediately replied, his left eye flaring hotter and brighter. "You don't have to kill to be strong." Sans returned Simon's stare for a moment, but then closed his eyes. After a few seconds, his pupils had returned to their normal apathy and laid back upon Simon. He then glanced backwards and turned his back to Simon. "Papyrus's going to need my help on some of the puzzles," he said over his shoulder. Simon ran towards Sans again, only to be met with the air as the skeleton slowly disappeared from his vision. His body powered by adrenaline, he sprinted forward to chase after the costumed blur. As he ran, the trees to his sides melted into brown varying shades and the figure in front of him became larger and clearer as he neared the skeleton. He didn't notice the first shop hovel to his left, but the second shop stand stopped him. As he passed by the dog-face adorned stand, a white, spotted black dog leapt from behind the counter, landing right in front of Simon. It stood on its hind legs, brandishing two katanas in the other paws. The familiar encompassing box appeared while the white snow became engulfed by the darkness.

"Did something move?" the dog barked, squinting as he sniffed around the area in front of him. Simon pulled his drill up, ready to attack. At this slight movement, the dog's head snapped to look at Simon. The dog jumped and sliced the air in front of him, sending a blue energy wave straight at Simon. As he raised his drill across his torso to block the incoming attack, his muscles tensed in anticipation. The blue attack struck with the strength of mist as it harmlessly wisped around his body. The dog began searching again with his nose, whispering "Was it my imagination?" to itself. Simon stared in confusion, dropping his hand to his side which attracted the dog's attention again. The dog stood and sliced at the air horizontally, sending another blue energy wave at Simon. He simply stood there and let the warm energy wash across his body. "Hello? Is anybody there?" it barked, squinting towards Simon. Simon stared back at the odd canine, wondering why the dog could not see him.

After a few seconds of this staring contest, the dog reached his pocket and pulled out a red looking bone and stuck it in his mouth. "I don't think there's anything here," he muttered as he sheathed his swords. "I'm going to need some dog treats to think about this." The black oozed back from behind the dog, retreating back behind Simon. The dog nonchalantly walked back to his stand and hopped back over the counter, hiding behind the bottom partition. Simon's eye, but not his body, followed the strange behavior of the dog as he contemplated whether to kill it or not. When he thought about running through it with his drill, his mind flashed back to his reflection he saw in Chara's eyes. He could understand how Frisk saw him as a monster, killing anything he saw. Simon, head hung low, turned away from the shack to continue on the path.

His inner turmoil continued as he walked past ice and another road offshoot, debating the necessity of the beastmen's deaths to his own survival. To one part of him, the beastmen were a threat as shown on the surface. They killed Kamina and they tried to kill everyone else he knew. If he was going to live he had to kill first, before they could get to him. Yet, he kept having lingering doubts as Frisk seemed to show the opposite. Frisk hadn't been killed by any beastmen as she travelled the path before him, and the skeletons were seeming to help her stay alive. Frisk seemed to whisper to his mind that the beastmen may not be evil, yet Kamina yelled over her and snuffing her voice out in his mind. Simon threw his head up and looked through exhausted eyes to see the skeletons ahead of him. Between he and they lay a square of packed-down snow outlined by untouched, fresh-fallen snow. Simon continued forward as the two creatures bickered, his drill gleaming at his side.

"Oh-Ho! The human arrives!" Papyrus shouted as he turned towards Simon, "In order to stop you…" His voice decrescendoed from a confident roar to a mouse's squeak as Simon unflinchingly advanced. He gripped the frightened Frisk tighter as she dug her own face deeper into his red cape. "My brother… and I…" he muttered.

"Go get the other puzzles ready," Sans sighed, turning towards Simon again. "Here," he said as he tossed a small metal ball towards Simon. Simon snatched the orb in its flight then opened his hand to inspect the shiny metal object. Papyrus took off in the other direction, satisfied with Sans handling the current puzzle. "You're standing in the center of an invisible electric maze. That orb will give you a nasty jolt if you hit any of the walls. It'll be quite… shocking." he said, giggling at his own pun. Simon simply threw the orb back back at the skeleton, watching it fly through his ribcage and into the ground behind him. Sans scratched his head and looked down at the ground. "You know," he started, "it'd be a little helpful if you just played along." The skeleton disappeared like before, escaping Simon once again. Undaunted, Simon pushed forward across a snowy walkway and small wooden bridge, warmed by the blazing spirit of Kamina in his heart. He had to push through and defeat these skeletons to save Frisk. That's what Kamina would do, he reasoned. Within a couple of moments, he found himself near the skeleton brothers. They seemed to be appearing every few moments he travelled, as the puzzles seemed to be in close proximity to each other.

"He isn't going to stop for this puzzle," Sans said.

"Then I guess you shouldn't be lazy and nap all night," Papyrus responded, annoyed.

"It's called sleeping," Frisk giggled, humored by the skeleton's ignorance. She lay cradled by one of Papyrus's large boney arms, comfortable and secure. She scanned the area around her, listening to the skeleton's discussion until she sighted Simon standing rigidly, staring at her. His shoulders broadened and his muscles flexed as if in preparation to strike. Frisk sank deeper into Papyrus's boney hold, compelling the skeleton to scour the snowy path. Upon spotting Simon, Papyrus launched forward on the path, already knowing San's instruction. As Simon lifted his foot to begin to follow, Sans disappeared immediately. Expecting such a reaction, Simon did not stop. The frozen spaghetti to his left failed to catch his attention, only stopped by a tree that appeared in front of him. As he slowed to avoid the obstacle, he noticed vines rising out of the ground behind the tree. The vines lowered and he heard the familiar click of a button, sounding similar to the contraptions found in the Ruins. A small petal of yellow flashed near the vines before slowly disappearing into the ground. As Simon considered the possibility of the flower following him, he saw spikes lower into the ground in his peripheral vision. Over a bridge, the skeletons were conversing with two black robed creatures with long white snouts, each holding a large executioner's axe. He could see Sans in the distance gesturing further down the path.

"He who strikes first wins." his inner voice told him as he dashed around a curve in the path towards the group. He was determined to catch the skeletons before they escaped again, but by the time he had reached the small bridge, they were already further down the path. They kept eluding him, keeping just out of his reach. Each time he got closer to rescuing Frisk, they ran further away. Each time he almost saved her, she seemed to shy away from his helping hand. But he couldn't stop here, he had to save her whether she thought she needed to be or not. Simon ran through X's laid in the snow, past buttons and ground spike holes until he came upon a small bridge over a dark chasm leading to grey tiles covering the ground. On the other side of the tiles, Papyrus ran down the path while Sans crouched next to a metallic rectangle. Sans turned knobs and flipped switches until the grey tiles started to randomly switch between colors. He stood straight, turned and winked at Simon before immediately disappearing.

Simon's eyes lit up with the flashing reds, purples, pinks, yellows, blues, oranges, and greens as the ground rapidly evolved, changing each tile until they slowed and settled on their own colors. The result was a pink strip stretching from the bridge towards the end, surrounded by red tiles. Simon, apprehensive, stabbed the pink path with his drill. The squares did not react, keeping constant even when Simon stepped on it. Judging it to be safe, Simon ran as usual past the hastily prepared puzzle, another stand, buttons, and ice. Sliding down a narrow ice overpass, Simon looked into the darkness below. He could barely make out a land of green and white stretching as far as the eye could see until he came upon solid ground and smacked straight into a pile of snow. The loud plomp was followed by the clanking of armor, invoking rage within Simon. He punched the snow drift he found himself lying in, angered at his own weakness. He grabbed his drill and pushed himself out of the small pile of snow. He drew his arm high and plunged his drill into the snow and ground, panting as he tried to calm himself. He ripped the drill out of the ground as his face curled downwards and his teeth grinded together. Without thinking and blinded by rage, his legs carried him forward towards a long wooden bridge. His boots smacked loudly upon the frozen wood as he barrelled across, alerting the skeletons at the other end.

"NOW!" yelled Sans. A cannonball, spiked ball, and two spears launched themselves at the end of the bridge, snapping the planks and tearing the ropes on the side. Simon threw one foot in front of the other until one only grabbed air. Halfway to the skeletons, his footing gave way to an abyss below him, leading to blobs of white and green. Simon stretched his hand out to reach one of the falling ropes from the other side only to have a white furred dog land in his face. He felt himself fall, falling further and further...

* * *

So we have a couple of questions that I shall now answer:

Diamondfiend wonders if Spiral Power and determination are the same phenomena. Now this is a good question, as we had spiral power mentioned by Flowey in ch2 as being stronger... but what's the difference? This difference isn't going to be necessarily referenced in story, so I'll answer it now. Spiral Power and Determination are basically the same thing, but a little different. I like to think of Spiral Power as Genocide Route Determination, giving you more power the more LOVE and EXP you have. Spiral Power is Determination to win a fight, while Determination is just the general power to move past failure and on to victory.

Kiakom asked if Chara already possessing Frisk's body means that she already sold her SOUL. This isn't necessarily the case. Comparisons of Geno and Neutral / Pacifist runs will show that Chara can take control before the SOUL is sold. Within the Neutral / Pacifist Routes, the only time that Frisk moves without your button inputs is when Toriel takes her through the spike puzzle. Other than that, only you can move / control Frisk. However, in the Genocide Route, some of the Snowdin Forest puzzles are skipped when Frisk walks through them during a cutscene. This shows something else being in control. Pair that with the fact that Flowey recognizes you as Chara in the Genocide Route along with the Genocide Route being available at anytime, we can assume Chara can possess Frisk at any point in which a great deal of killing intent awakens her. Now, I'm not saying she hasn't sold her SOUL, just that no one can say for certain right now. Did she or didn't she? You'll have to wait and see.

If these answers cleared up nothing for you, please tell me.

Finally, more thanks to editor Tmanmaniac122. What a man, what a man.


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